This meeting is all about our favorite astronomical instrument – the telescope! Bring yours (if you have it) and set it up in the Planetarium lobby. Bring your projects and questions. No telescope required. See you Friday!
Our December speaker beams in remotely to SFCC this month. The topic is to-be-determined, but given that Ken works on a flying telescope I’d say we’re in for a treat. Ken Bower has worked on NASA astrophysics projects at Stanford University and the NASA Ames Research Center for more than 20 years. On the side, he delights in presenting scientific and engineering concepts to lay audiences of all ages.
This month at the SFCC Planetarium, local astronomer and educator John Benham takes on a journey of astro-hypotheticals: what if the Earth had two moons? What if our solar system were closer to the center of the Milky Way, or what if we lived in a binary star system? Get some answers on October 4th, 7:30pm!
This month at the SAS general meeting, Professor Matthew Geske of Gonzaga University tells us all about the universe’s “ghost particles”. Neutrinos are often referred to a “ghost particles” due to how difficult they are to detect. When massive stars reach the end of their lifespan, they often eject much of their mass outward in a stellar explosion called a supernova. All this and more on Friday, September 6th at Riverview Retirement Center!
Midsummer is a tricky time to schedule speakers, so this month we’re going to leave the topic open.
We’ll likely have a general Q&A about astronomical or observing topics, astrophotography or whatever you as members want to talk about. Maybe a video or two about upcoming NASA missions and discussion around that.
If you’re new to astronomy this will be a great time to ask questions or bring in a troublesome telescope and we’ll help get you sorted out.
The 2019 observing season is finally upon us! In this beginner-oriented session, we’ll talk about how to prepare for upcoming star parties and tips on maximizing the use of your binoculars or telescopes. Do you have questions on how to use your telescope? Bring it! We’ll set it up in the lobby and help you figure out how to fix it or use it. Bring your questions and we’ll do our best to answer them as a group.
This month at SFCC Dr. Mendell will share LIGO’s exciting discoveries, including the observation of ten binary black hole mergers and one binary neutron star collision. The latter occurred in NGC 4993, and produced a gamma-ray burst and fireball that was followed up by over 70 telescopes around the world and in space. Friday, April 5th 7:30 pm at the SFCC Planetarium.
Peter Balholm of Spokane will tell an inspirational and cautionary tale about his 12-year project building a spectrohelioscope. The SHS is a specialized telescope for viewing the sun in any visible wavelength, showing not just sunspots but solar prominences and flares.
Our speaker this month is Prof. Guy Worthey from WSU’s Physics and Astronomy Program. Dr. Worthey will speak about stellar populations, galaxy evolution and more. He’s also one of the principal organizers of the Palouse Divide Lodge Star Party, happening in early July 2019. See the event page for more information.
Please join us at our Holiday Potluck on January 4th, 2019 at Riverview Retirement Center. Details (including what to bring) here!